DPOV

Why couldn't the Morio have just minded their own business or have let the guardian's stake me. The content guilt is more then I want to handle. Why couldn't they have left well enough alone? I have thought about this over and over since the day I was returned to a dhampir five years ago. They had to test what spirit could do, and now that they had spirit users again, they had to see if the legends were true.

Of course I remembered when spirit users were just as common as any of the other four elements. But they had to find out for themselves and now here I was. I hated my life and everyone and everything about it.

I have wealth and servants but I'm more alone now than when I was a stragoi. At least then people feared me and obeyed me. Not that I want to be the blood thirsty evil monster I was, but at least I didn't feel. Now all I could think and feel was guilt and those I murdered.

Before I was changed I was a good man. I had a family and friends. I wasn't evil or even mean. I was bad ass, but I was the best, what can I say. Now, we'll now I was alone bitter, angry, and most of all guilty.

I hadn't readjusted well when I was turned back so now here I was in my homeland Russia in the middle of a forest in a castle surrounded by humans and a few other outcasts from the dhampir society. They all worked for me. I was wealthy well that's putting it in small terms I was richer then Midas. Almost three hundred years of being an evil undead vampire will do that.

None of the people here gave a rats ass about me. I cared as much as I could but with my emotions as limited as they are now it's not much.

I decided that I needed a run it was one of the few pleasures I had in life anymore. It was sunset so I might be able to kill a few stragoi if I'm lucky which will help with my anger but not much. Running also was the only time I wasn't miserable I could think about something other then what I had done and how I am an awful man.

I set off on my normal path through the forest but something just didn't feel right. Something was wrong. Not that I really cared but if I was going to get attacked tonight by yet another stragoi or rookie dhampir then I needed to keep an eye out. I might hate myself but I'm not going to give anyone the satisfaction of killing me. Especially not some brat right out of the Academy who thinks killing me will earn them more respect then killing a hundred stragoi.

I continued just keeping my scenes at full alert, when I smelled it. Blood and lots of it. Not only stragoi but dhampir blood. Great some idiot got themselves killed again. I wasn't in the mood to kleenex house right now maybe I'll come back later or send someone to do it for me.

That's when I heard it a small moan. It wasn't from the stragoi either. So I decided to take a look. I snuck up silently to where the smell and noise had come from when I saw her.

She had dark brown hair almost black, beautiful almond colored skin and was beaten and bloody. But was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I came up closer taking in the scene. There were three dead stragoi two of which I had known. The first was a very old stragoi who mentored me he was over five hundred years old. The woman was his partner and was only a few years younger than me. The third guy I didn't know but he looked like he was only changed recently.

I was impressed this little girl took all three down by herself. I came up closer to see if she was alive and to my utter amazement she was. I went to pick her up and flinched. Contact especially with the opposite sex was difficult for me. When she grabbed onto my shirt I almost dropped her. Here I was think she'd probably die soon but the grip she had on me said different. As I readjusted her I saw the back of her neck. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. She not only had two molina marks but a battle star as well. She couldn't be more then eighteen. How the hell did she have so many kills?

As I walked back to my home I started mentally kicking myself. I was intrigued by this girl, and I knew no one could handle being around me who wasn't paid too. And even they were in the same room as me as little as possible. Well that's not entirely true my housekeeper, butler, and go to guy all 'cared'. They were always trying to help but honestly they just pissed me off. I didn't want their pity and I didn't need anyone.

As I walked in the front door Meg, my housekeeper, came running up I told her to get the first aid kit and to meet me in the red room. It was the closest room and I needed to assess the damage. I went and put the girl down there and sighed. If she didn't sign a contract saying she wouldn't disclose my location I would have to force her to stay. I didn't want that; I wanted her out of here as soon as possible.

All of the sudden her eyes flashed open. They were beautiful a brilliant brown that you could get lost in. What was I thinking who cares if she is Aphrodite herself she would be a problem and nothing more. Plus even if I could feel something more than the three things I did no one would ever have nice feelings towards me.

The next thing I knew she screamed. Shit!